April 21, 2022 | If you’ve ever had even a minor surgical procedure, you’ve been given a drug to reduce or prevent any pain associated with the surgery called an anesthetic. There are three types of anesthesia and the type you are given will depend on the procedure you are having, the area of the body on which the surgery is involved and your overall health, including your age and weight. Given as an injection or through inhaled gases or vapors, different types of anesthesia affect the nervous system in various ways by blocking nerve impulses and, therefore, pain. An anesthesiologist, a physician who specializes in giving and managing anesthetics, is responsible for administering the medications necessary to prepare a patient for surgery. But the anesthesiologist is also charged with monitoring the patient’s major bodily functions, including breathing, heart rate, temperature and blood pressure, as well as treating most problems that might arise during surgery.

April 21, 2022 | A local anesthetic is a drug, given as an injection, a spray or an ointment, that numbs only a small, specific area of the body, like a foot or patch of skin. With local anesthesia, the patient is awake or sedated, depending on what is necessary. A local anesthetic lasts for a short period of time and is often used for minor outpatient procedures, such as dental work, a biopsy or cataract removal. A topical anesthetic may be used on the skin or a mucous membrane, such as the mouth, eardrum, inside of the nose or surface of the eye. An injection numbs skin and the tissue that lies underneath and will spread around the area. Irrigation with local anesthetic solution, using a syringe, a catheter, or another type of device, bathes the surrounding area and tissues. Epidural analgesia, which is administered to relieve the pain of labor and childbirth, is a catheter-based way of giving local anesthesia medication that bathes selected nerves near the spinal cord.

April 21, 2022 | Regional anesthesia is used to make a specific part of the body numb to relieve pain or allow surgical procedures to be performed. Types of regional anesthesia include spinal anesthesia, epidural anesthesia and nerve blocks. Regional anesthesia is often used for orthopedic surgery, for male or female reproductive surgery and for operations on the bladder and urinary tract. A spinal anesthetic involves the use of an extremely small needle, which is placed through the skin, soft tissue and ligaments surrounding the spine until it reaches the subarachnoid space, which is where cerebrospinal fluid is found. A small amount of local anesthetic specifically designed to go into the cerebrospinal fluid is given, and the needle is taken out. Numbness usually starts at the feet and moves upward. How far the numbness spreads is determined by many things, including the amount of anesthetic given, the patient’s height and their position once the drug is given.

April 21, 2022 | General anesthesia involves rendering a patient completely unconscious and unable to feel pain during a medical procedure. This form of anesthesia is commonly produced by a combination of intravenous drugs and inhaled gasses. General anesthesia relaxes the muscles in your digestive tract and airway that normally keeps food and acid in your stomach and out of your lungs. That’s why it’s important to follow instructions about when to stop eating and drinking prior to surgery. In most cases, patients should start fasting about eight hours before a procedure. Most people don’t have any problems with general anesthesia. Although many may have mild symptoms, general anesthesia itself is exceptionally safe, even for the sickest patients. The risk of long-term complications is minimal. In general, the risk of complications is more related to the type of procedure you’re undergoing, and your physical health, than the anesthesia itself.

April 21, 2022 | Before giving a child anesthesia, doctors and nurses will work with the child and their parents to ease any fears. Sometimes, a child gets sedation before the IV is placed or anesthesia is given. This medicine, given by mouth or as a nasal spray, helps them relax and feel sleepy. A parent or caregiver usually can stay with the child until the sedative starts to work. Then, the child gets the anesthesia from either an anesthesiologist or a nurse anesthetist. Depending on the anesthesia type, it may be given through a mask, breathing tube, or IV. During anesthesia, the doctor or nurse will check breathing, heart rate and rhythm, body temperature, blood pressure, and blood oxygen levels. After general anesthesia, kids go to the post-anesthesia care unit or recovery room. Parents or caregivers usually can join their child here and be with them while they wake up. Kids often go home the same day, but some may stay in the hospital overnight.